Etymology

In 1507, the German cartographer
Martin Waldseemüller produced a world map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America in honor of the Italian explorer and cartographer
Amerigo Vespucci (
Latin: Americus Vespucius).[41] The first documentary evidence of the phrase "United States of America" is from a letter dated January 2, 1776, written by
Stephen Moylan, Esq., to
George Washington's
aide-de-camp and Muster-Master General of the
Continental Army,
Lt. Col. Joseph Reed. Moylan expressed his wish to go "with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain" to seek assistance in the revolutionary war effort.[42][43][44] The first known publication of the phrase "United States of America" was in an anonymous essay in The Virginia Gazette newspaper in Williamsburg, Virginia, on April 6, 1776.[45]

The second draft of the
Articles of Confederation, prepared by
John Dickinson and completed by June 17, 1776, at the latest, declared "The name of this Confederation shall be the 'United States of America'".[46] The final version of the Articles sent to the states for ratification in late 1777 contains the sentence "The Stile of this Confederacy shall be 'The United States of America'".[47] In June 1776,
Thomas Jefferson wrote the phrase "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" in all capitalized letters in the headline of his "original Rough draught" of the
Declaration of Independence.[46] This draft of the document did not surface until June 21, 1776, and it is unclear whether it was written before or after Dickinson used the term in his June 17 draft of the Articles of Confederation.[46]

The short form "United States" is also standard. Other common forms are the "U.S.", the "USA", and "America". Colloquial names are the "U.S. of A." and, internationally, the "States". "
Columbia", a name popular in poetry and songs of the late 18th century, derives its origin from
Christopher Columbus; it appears in the name "
District of Columbia".[48]

The phrase "United States" was originally plural, a description of a collection of independent states—e.g., "the United States are"—including in the
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1865.[49] The singular form—e.g., "the United States is"—became popular after the end of the American Civil War. The singular form is now standard; the plural form is retained in the idiom "these United States". The difference is more significant than usage; it is a difference between a collection of states and a unit.[50]

A
citizen of the United States is an "
American". "United States", "American" and "U.S." refer to the country adjectivally ("American values", "U.S. forces"). In English, the word "
American" rarely refers to topics or subjects not directly connected with the United States.[51]

Indigenous peoples and pre-Columbian history

It has been generally accepted that the
first inhabitants of North America migrated from
Siberia by way of the
Bering land bridge and arrived at least 12,000 years ago; however, increasing evidence suggests an even earlier arrival.[22][52][53] After crossing the land bridge, the first Americans moved southward along the Pacific coast[54] and through an interior ice-free corridor between the
Cordilleran and
Laurentide ice sheets.[55] The
Clovis culture appeared around 11,000 BC, and is considered to be an ancestor of most of the later indigenous cultures of the Americas.[56] The Clovis culture was believed to represent the first human settlement of the Americas.[57] Over the years, more and more evidence has advanced the idea of "pre-Clovis" cultures including tools dating back about 15,550 years ago. It is likely these represent the first of three major waves of migrations into North America.[58]

Effects on and interaction with native populations

While estimating the original native population of North America at the time of European contact is difficult, an attempt was made in the early part of the twentieth century by
James Mooney using historic records to estimate the indigenous population north of
Mexico in 1600.[68][69] In more recent years,
Douglas H. Ubelaker of the
Smithsonian Institution has updated these figures.[70] While Ubelaker estimated that there was a population of 92,916 in the south Atlantic states and a population of 473,616 in the Gulf states, most academics regard the figure as too low.[68]AnthropologistHenry F. Dobyns believed that the populations were much higher, suggestion 1,100,000 along the shores of the gulf of Mexico, 2,211,000 people living between
Florida and
Massachusetts, 5,250,000 in the
Mississippi Valley and tributaries and 697,000 people in the
Florida peninsula.[68][69]

The first interaction between Europeans and Native Americans was made by the
Norsemen. A number of surviving Norse
sagas provide information regarding
The Maritimes and its indigenous people. The Norse attempted to settle in North America about 500 years before Columbus.[71][72][73]

In the early days of colonization, many European settlers were subject to food shortages, disease, and attacks from Native Americans. Native Americans were also often at war with neighboring tribes and allied with Europeans in their colonial wars. At the same time, however, many natives and settlers came to depend on each other. Settlers traded for food and animal pelts, natives for guns, ammunition and other European wares.[74] Natives taught many settlers where, when and how to cultivate corn, beans, and squash. European missionaries and others felt it was important to "civilize" the Native Americans and urged them to adopt European agricultural techniques and lifestyles.[75][76]

Most settlers in every colony were small farmers, but other industries developed within a few decades as varied as the settlements.
Cash crops included tobacco, rice, and wheat. Extraction industries grew up in furs, fishing and lumber. Manufacturers produced rum and ships, and by the late colonial period, Americans were producing one-seventh of the world's iron supply.[81] Cities eventually dotted the coast to support local economies and serve as trade hubs. English colonists were supplemented by waves of
Scotch-Irish and other groups. As coastal land grew more expensive, freed
indentured servants pushed further west.[82]

A large-scale slave trade with English privateers was begun.[83] The life expectancy of slaves was much higher in North America than further south, because of less disease and better food and treatment, leading to a rapid increase in the numbers of slaves.[84][85] Colonial society was largely divided over the religious and moral implications of slavery, and colonies passed acts for and against the practice.[86][87] But by the turn of the 18th century, African slaves were replacing indentured servants for cash crop labor, especially in southern regions.[88]

With the British colonization of
Georgia in 1732, the
13 colonies that would become the United States of America were established.[89] All had local governments with elections open to most free men, with a growing devotion to the ancient
rights of Englishmen and a sense of self-government stimulating support for republicanism.[90] With extremely high birth rates, low death rates, and steady settlement, the colonial population grew rapidly. Relatively small Native American populations were eclipsed.[91] The
Christian revivalist movement of the 1730s and 1740s known as the
Great Awakening fueled interest in both religion and religious liberty.[92]

During the
Seven Years' War (in the United States, known as the
French and Indian War), British forces seized Canada from the French, but the
francophone population remained politically isolated from the southern colonies. Excluding the
Native Americans, who were being conquered and displaced, the 13 British colonies had a population of over 2.1 million in 1770, about one-third that of Britain. Despite continuing new arrivals, the rate of natural increase was such that by the 1770s only a small minority of Americans had been born overseas.[93] The colonies' distance from Britain had allowed the development of self-government, but their success motivated
monarchs to periodically seek to reassert royal authority.[94]

In 1774, the
Spanish Navy ship Santiago, under
Juan Pérez, entered and anchored in an inlet of
Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island, in present-day British Columbia. Although the Spanish did not land, natives paddled to the ship to trade
furs for
abalone shells from
California.[95] At the time, the Spanish were able to monopolize the trade between
Asia and North America, granting limited licenses to the
Portuguese. When the
Russians began establishing a growing
fur trading system in
Alaska, the Spanish began to challenge the Russians, with Pérez's voyage being the first of many to the
Pacific Northwest.[96][i]

During his
third and final voyage,
Captain James Cook became the first European to begin formal contact with Hawaii. After his initial landfall in January 1778 at
Waimea harbor,
Kauai, Cook named the
archipelago the "Sandwich Islands" after the
fourth Earl of Sandwich—the acting
First Lord of the Admiralty of the British
Royal Navy.[98] Captain
James Cook's last voyage included sailing along the coast of North America and Alaska searching for a
Northwest Passage for approximately nine months. After having arrived in the Hawaiian islands in 1778, Captain Cook sailed north and then northeast to explore the west coast of North America north of the Spanish settlements in
Alta California. He made landfall on the Oregon coast at approximately 44°30′ north latitude, naming his landing point
Cape Foulweather. Bad weather forced his ships south to about
43° north before they could begin their exploration of the coast northward.[99] In March 1778, Cook landed on
Bligh Island and named the inlet "King George's Sound". He recorded that the native name was Nutka or Nootka, apparently misunderstanding his conversations at Friendly Cove/Yuquot; his informant may have been explaining that he was on an island (itchme nutka, a place you can "go around"). There may also have been confusion with Nuu-chah-nulth, the natives' autonym (a name for themselves). It may also have simply been based on Cook's mispronunciation of Yuquot, the native name of the place.[100] He returned to Hawaii to resupply, initially exploring the coasts of
Maui and the
big island, trading with locals and then making anchor at
Kealakekua Bay in January 1779. When his ships and company left the islands, a ship's mast broke in bad weather, forcing them to return in mid-February. Cook would be killed days later.[101][j][k]

The
American Revolutionary War was the first successful colonial war of independence against a European power. Americans had developed an ideology of "
republicanism" asserting that government rested on the will of the people as expressed in their local legislatures. They demanded their
rights as Englishmen and "no taxation without representation". The British insisted on administering the empire through Parliament, and
the conflict escalated into war.[114]

The
Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the
Declaration of Independence on July 4, which recognized, in a long preamble, that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights and that those rights were not being protected by Great Britain, and declared, in the words of the resolution, that the
thirteen United Colonies formed an independent nation and had no further allegiance to the British crown. The fourth day of July is celebrated annually as
Independence Day.[115] The Second Continental Congress declared on September 9 "where, heretofore, the words 'United Colonies' have been used, the stile be altered for the future to the 'United States' ".[116] In 1777, the
Articles of Confederation established a weak government that operated until 1789.[115]

Although the federal government criminalized the international slave trade in 1808, after 1820, cultivation of the highly profitable cotton crop exploded in the
Deep South, and along with it, the slave population.[119][120][121] The
Second Great Awakening, especially 1800–1840, converted millions to
evangelical Protestantism. In the North, it energized multiple social reform movements, including
abolitionism;[122] in the South, Methodists and Baptists proselytized among slave populations.[123]

The
California Gold Rush of 1848–49 spurred western migration, the
California Genocide[132][133][134][135] and the creation of additional western states.[136] After the
American Civil War, new transcontinental
railways made relocation easier for settlers, expanded internal trade and increased conflicts with Native Americans.[137] Over a half-century, the loss of the
American bison (sometimes called "buffalo") was an existential blow to many
Plains Indians culture.[138] In 1869, a new
Peace Policy nominally promised to protect Native-Americans from abuses, avoid further war, and secure their eventual U.S. citizenship. Nonetheless, large-scale conflicts continued throughout the West into the 1900s.

Civil War and Reconstruction era

Differences of opinion regarding
the slavery of
Africans and
African Americans ultimately led to the
American Civil War.[139] Initially, states entering the Union had alternated between
slave and free states, keeping a sectional balance in the Senate, while free states outstripped slave states in population and in the House of Representatives. But with additional western territory and more free-soil states, tensions between slave and free states mounted with arguments over federalism and disposition of the territories, whether and how to expand or restrict slavery.[140]

With the
1860 election of
Abraham Lincoln, the first president from the largely anti-slavery
Republican Party, conventions in thirteen slave states ultimately declared secession and formed the
Confederate States of America (the "South"), while the federal government (the "
Union") maintained that secession was illegal.[140] In order to bring about this secession, military action was initiated by the secessionists, and the Union responded in kind. The ensuing war would become the deadliest military conflict in American history, resulting in the deaths of approximately 618,000 soldiers as well as many civilians.[141] The South fought for the freedom to own slaves, while the Union at first simply fought to maintain the country as one united whole. Nevertheless, as casualties mounted after 1863 and Lincoln delivered his
Emancipation Proclamation, the main purpose of the war from the Union's viewpoint became the abolition of slavery. Indeed, when the Union ultimately won the war in April 1865, each of the states in the defeated South was required to ratify the
Thirteenth Amendment, which prohibited slavery.

Three amendments were added to the U.S. Constitution in the years after the war: the aforementioned Thirteenth as well as the
Fourteenth Amendment providing citizenship to the nearly four million
African Americans who had been slaves,[142] and the
Fifteenth Amendment ensuring in theory that African Americans had the right to vote. The war and its resolution led to a substantial increase in
federal power[143] aimed at reintegrating and rebuilding the South while guaranteeing the rights of the newly freed slaves.

Reconstruction began in earnest following the war. While President Lincoln attempted to foster friendship and forgiveness between the Union and the former Confederacy,
an assassin's bullet on April 14, 1865, drove a wedge between North and South again. Republicans in the federal government made it their goal to oversee the rebuilding of the South and to ensure the rights of African Americans. They persisted until the
Compromise of 1877 when the Republicans agreed to cease protecting the rights of African Americans in the South in order for Democrats to concede the
presidential election of 1876.

Southern white Democrats, calling themselves "
Redeemers", took control of the South after the end of Reconstruction. From 1890 to 1910, so-called
Jim Crow lawsdisenfranchised most blacks and some poor whites throughout the region. Blacks faced
racial segregation, especially in the South.[144] They also occasionally experienced vigilante violence, including
lynching.[145]

After World War II the United States and the
Soviet Union jockeyed for power during what became known as the
Cold War, driven by an ideological divide between
capitalism and
communism[177] and, according to the school of
geopolitics, a divide between the maritime Atlantic and the continental Eurasian camps. They dominated the military affairs of
Europe, with the U.S. and its
NATO allies on one side and the USSR and its
Warsaw Pact allies on the other. The U.S.
developed a policy of containment towards the expansion of communist influence. While the U.S. and Soviet Union engaged in
proxy wars and developed powerful nuclear arsenals, the two countries avoided direct military conflict.

In 2010, the Obama administration passed the
Affordable Care Act, which made the most sweeping reforms to the
nation's healthcare system in nearly five decades, including
mandates,
subsidies and
insurance exchanges. The law caused a significant reduction in the number and percentage of people without health insurance, with 24 million covered during 2016,[219] but remains controversial due to its impact on healthcare costs, insurance premiums, and economic performance.[220] Although the recession reached its trough in June 2009, voters remained frustrated with the slow pace of the economic recovery. The Republicans, who stood in opposition to Obama's policies, won control of the House of Representatives with
a landslide in 2010 and control of the Senate in
2014.[221]

The land area of the entire United States is approximately 3,800,000 square miles (9,841,955 km2),[229] with the
contiguous United States making up 2,959,064 square miles (7,663,940.6 km2) of that.
Alaska, separated from the contiguous United States by Canada, is the largest state at 663,268 square miles (1,717,856.2 km2).
Hawaii, occupying an archipelago in the central
Pacific, southwest of North America, is 10,931 square miles (28,311 km2) in area. The populated territories of
Puerto Rico,
American Samoa,
Guam,
Northern Mariana Islands, and
U.S. Virgin Islands together cover 9,185 square miles (23,789 km2).[230] Measured by only land area, the United States is third in size behind Russia and China, just ahead of Canada.[231]

The United States is the world's third- or fourth-
largest nation by total area (land and water), ranking behind Russia and Canada and just above or below
China. The ranking varies depending on how two territories disputed by China and
India are counted, and how the total size of the United States is measured.[d] The Encyclopædia Britannica, for instance, lists the size of the United States as 3,677,649 square miles (9,525,067 km2), as they do not count the country's coastal or territorial waters.[232]The World Factbook, which includes those waters, gives 3,796,742 square miles (9,833,517 km2).[233]

Wildlife

The U.S. ecology is
megadiverse: about 17,000 species of
vascular plants occur in the contiguous United States and Alaska, and over 1,800 species of
flowering plants are found in Hawaii, few of which occur on the mainland.[247] The United States is home to 428 mammal species, 784 bird species, 311 reptile species, and 295 amphibian species.[248] About 91,000 insect species have been described.[249] The
bald eagle is both the
national bird and
national animal of the United States, and is an enduring symbol of the country itself.[250]

There are 59
national parks and hundreds of other federally managed parks, forests, and
wilderness areas.[251] Altogether, the government owns about 28% of the country's land area.[252] Most of this is
protected, though some is leased for oil and gas drilling, mining, logging, or cattle ranching; about .86% is used for military purposes.[253][254]

The
U.S. Census Bureau estimated the country's population to be 327,167,434 as of July 1, 2018, and to be adding 1 person (net gain) every 13 seconds, or about 6,646 people per day.[34] The U.S. population almost quadrupled during the 20th century, from 76.2 million in 1900 to 281.4 million in 2000.[264] The third most populous nation in the world, after
China and
India, the United States is the only major industrialized nation in which large population increases are projected.[265] In the 1800s the average woman had 7.04 children;[266] by the 1900s this number had decreased to 3.56.[267] Since the early 1970s the birth rate has been below the replacement rate of 2.1 with 1.76 children per woman in 2017.[268] Foreign-born immigration has caused the U.S. population to continue its rapid increase with the foreign-born population doubling from almost 20 million in 1990 to over 40 million in 2010, representing one-third of the population increase.[269] The foreign-born population reached 45 million in 2015.[270] The United States has a very diverse population; 37
ancestry groups have more than one million members.[271]German Americans are the largest ethnic group (more than 50 million) – followed by
Irish Americans (circa 37 million),
Mexican Americans (circa 31 million) and
English Americans (circa 28 million).[272][273]

The drop in the U.S. fertility rate from 2.08 per woman in 2007 to 1.76 in 2017 was mostly due to the declining birth rate of Hispanics, teenagers, and young women, although the birth rate for older women rose,[285] below the replacement rate of 2.1. In 2018 the
median age of the United States population was 38.1 years.[286]

Minorities (as defined by the Census Bureau as all those beside non-Hispanic, non-multiracial
whites) constituted 37.2% of the population in 2012[287] and over 50% of children under age one,[288][282] and are projected to constitute the majority by 2044.[288]

The United States has a birth rate of 13 per 1,000, which is 5 births below the world average.[289] Its
population growth rate is positive at 0.7%,
higher than that of many developed nations.[290] In fiscal year 2016, over one million
immigrants (most of whom entered through
family reunification) were granted
legal residence.[291]Mexico has been the leading source of new residents since the
1965 Immigration Act. China, India, and the
Philippines have been in the top four sending countries every year since the 1990s.[292] As of 2012[update], approximately 11.4 million residents are
illegal immigrants.[293] As of 2015[update], 47% of all immigrants are Hispanic, 26% are Asian, 18% are white and 8% are black. The percentage of immigrants who are Asian is increasing while the percentage who are Hispanic is decreasing.[270] The estimated number of illegal immigrants dropped to 10.7 million in 2017, down from a peak of 12.2 million in 2007. In 2017, 33,000 refugees were resettled in the United States. This was fewer than were resettled in the rest of the world for the first time in decades.[294]
A 2017
Gallup poll concluded that 4.5% of adult Americans identified as
LGBT with 5.1% of women identifying as LGBT, compared with 3.9% of men.[295] The highest percentage came from the
District of Columbia (10%), while the lowest state was
North Dakota at 1.7%.[296]

Both
Hawaiian and English are official languages in
Hawaii, by state law.[305]Alaska recognizes
twenty Native languages as well as English.[306] While neither has an official language,
New Mexico has laws providing for the use of both English and Spanish, as
Louisiana does for English and
French.[307] Other states, such as California, mandate the publication of Spanish versions of certain government documents including court forms.[308]

In a 2013 survey, 56% of Americans said that religion played a "very important role in their lives", a far higher figure than that of any other wealthy nation.[319] In a 2009 Gallup poll, 42% of Americans said that they attended church weekly or almost weekly; the figures ranged from a low of 23% in
Vermont to a high of 63% in
Mississippi.[320]

As with other Western countries, the U.S. is becoming less religious.
Irreligion is growing rapidly among Americans under 30.[321] Polls show that overall American confidence in organized religion has been declining since the mid to late 1980s,[322] and that younger Americans, in particular, are becoming increasingly irreligious.[318][323] According to a 2012 study, the Protestant share of the U.S. population had dropped to 48%, thus ending its status as religious category of the majority for the first time.[324][325] Americans with no religion have 1.7 children compared to 2.2 among Christians. The unaffiliated are less likely to get married with 37% marrying compared to 52% of Christians.[326]

Family structure

As of 2007[update], 58% of Americans age 18 and over were married, 6% were widowed, 10% were divorced, and 25% had never been married.[338] Women now work mostly outside the home and receive a majority of
bachelor's degrees.[339]

Health

View of the
Texas Medical Center from Fannin Street. The center is the largest medical complex in the world.

The United States had a
life expectancy of 78.6 years at birth in 2017, which was the third year of declines in life expectancy following decades of continuous increase. The recent decline is largely due to sharp increases in the
drug overdose and
suicide rates. Life expectancy was highest among Asians and Hispanics and lowest among blacks.[348][349] According to CDC and Census Bureau data, deaths from suicide, alcohol and drug overdoses hit record highs in 2017.[350]

Increasing
obesity in the United States and health improvements elsewhere contributed to lowering the country's rank in life expectancy from 11th in the world in 1987, to 42nd in 2007.[351] Obesity rates have more than doubled in the last 30 years, are the highest in the industrialized world, and are among the highest anywhere.[352][353] Approximately one-third of the adult population is obese and an additional third is overweight.[354] Obesity-related
type 2 diabetes is considered epidemic by health care professionals.[355]

The U.S. is a global leader in medical innovation. America solely developed or contributed significantly to 9 of the top 10 most important medical innovations since 1975 as ranked by a 2001 poll of physicians, while the European Union and Switzerland together contributed to five.[358] Since 1966, more Americans have received the
Nobel Prize in Medicine than the rest of the world combined. From 1989 to 2002, four times more money was invested in private biotechnology companies in America than in Europe.[359] The U.S. health-care system far
outspends any other nation, measured in both per capita spending and percentage of GDP.[360]

Health-care coverage in the United States is a combination of public and private efforts and is not
universal. In 2017, 12.2% of the population did not carry
health insurance.[361] The subject of uninsured and underinsured Americans is a major political issue.[362][363] In 2006,
Massachusetts became the first state to mandate universal health insurance.[364]Federal legislation passed in early 2010 would ostensibly create a near-universal health insurance system around the country by 2014,[needs update] though the bill and its ultimate effect are issues of controversy.[365][366]

Education

The
University of Virginia, founded by
Thomas Jefferson in 1819, is one of the many public universities in the United States. Universal government-funded education exists in the United States, while there are also many privately funded institutions.

Of Americans 25 and older, 84.6% graduated from high school, 52.6% attended some college, 27.2% earned a
bachelor's degree, and 9.6% earned graduate degrees.[371] The basic
literacy rate is approximately 99%.[233][372] The United Nations assigns the United States an Education Index of 0.97, tying it for 12th in the world.[373]

Higher education

The United States has many competitive private and public
institutions of higher education. The majority of the world's top universities listed by different ranking organizations are in the U.S.[374][375][376] There are also local
community colleges with generally more open admission policies, shorter academic programs, and lower tuition.

In 2018,
U21, a network of research-intensive universities, ranked the United States first in the world for breadth and quality of higher education, and 15th when GDP was a factor.[377]

As for public expenditures on higher education, the U.S. trails some other
OECD nations but spends more per student than the OECD average, and more than all nations in combined public and private spending.[369][378] As of 2018[update],
student loan debt exceeded 1.5 trillion dollars, more than Americans owe on credit cards.[379][380]

The state governments are structured in a roughly similar fashion;
Nebraska uniquely has a
unicameral legislature.[394] The
governor (chief executive) of each state is directly elected. Some state judges and cabinet officers are appointed by the governors of the respective states, while others are elected by popular vote.

The original text of the Constitution establishes the structure and responsibilities of the federal government and its relationship with the individual states.
Article One protects the right to the "great writ" of
habeas corpus. The Constitution has been amended 27 times;[395] the first ten amendments, which make up the
Bill of Rights, and the
Fourteenth Amendment form the central basis of Americans' individual rights. All laws and governmental procedures are subject to
judicial review and any law ruled by the courts to be in violation of the Constitution is voided. The principle of judicial review, not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, was established by the Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison (1803)[396] in a decision handed down by
Chief Justice John Marshall.[397]

The United States is a federal republic of
50 states, a
federal district,
five territories and several uninhabited
island possessions.[399][400][401] The states and territories are the principal administrative districts in the country. These are divided into subdivisions of counties and independent cities. The
District of Columbia is a federal district that contains the capital of the United States, Washington DC.[402] The states and the District of Columbia choose the President of the United States. Each state has presidential electors equal to the number of their Representatives and Senators in Congress; the District of Columbia has three (because of the
23rd Amendment).[403]Territories of the United States such as
Puerto Rico do not have presidential electors, and so people in those territories cannot vote for the president.[391]

Congressional Districts are reapportioned among the states following each decennial Census of Population. Each state then draws single-member districts to conform with the census apportionment. The total number of voting Representatives is 435. There are also
6 non-voting representatives who represent the District of Columbia and the five major U.S. territories.[404]

The United States also observes
tribal sovereignty of the American Indian nations to a limited degree, as it does with the states' sovereignty. American Indians are U.S. citizens and tribal lands are subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress and the federal courts. Like the states they have a great deal of autonomy, but also like the states, tribes are not allowed to make war, engage in their own foreign relations, or print and issue currency.[405]

Citizenship is granted at birth in all states, the District of Columbia, and all major U.S. territories except
American Samoa.[406][407]

In the
116th United States Congress, the
House of Representatives is controlled by the Democratic Party and the
Senate is controlled by the Republican Party, giving the U.S. a split Congress. The Senate consists of 53 Republicans, and 45 Democrats with 2
Independents who caucus with the Democrats; the House consists of 235 Democrats and 199 Republicans.[416] In state governorships, there are 27 Republicans and 23 Democrats.[417] Among the DC mayor and the 5 territorial governors, there are 2 Republicans, 1 Democrat, 1
New Progressive, and 2 Independents.[418][419]

On October 25, 2017, Vice President Mike Pence announced at a In Defense of Christians annual dinner meeting in Washington that the United States would stop funding United Nations relief efforts, cases tackling the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, but insisted that the U.S. would instead help and aid Christians directly through the
United States Agency for International Development.[433] Pence said that he will be visiting the Middle East in December and will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss peace agreements.[434][435]

Government finance

U.S. federal debt held by the public as a percentage of GDP, from 1790 to 2013.[436]

United States debt from 1940 to 2015.

Taxes in the United States are levied at the federal, state, and local government levels. These include taxes on income, payroll, property, sales, imports, estates and gifts, as well as various fees. Taxation in the United States is based on citizenship, not residency.[437] Both non-resident citizens and
Green Card holders living abroad are taxed on their income irrespective of where they live or where their income is earned. It is the only country in the world, other than
Eritrea, to do so.[438]

In 2010 taxes collected by federal, state and municipal governments amounted to 24.8% of
GDP.[439] During FY2012, the federal government collected approximately $2.45 trillion in tax revenue, up $147 billion or 6% versus FY2011 revenues of $2.30 trillion. Primary receipt categories included individual income taxes ($1,132B or 47%), Social Security/Social Insurance taxes ($845B or 35%), and corporate taxes ($242B or 10%).[440] Based on CBO estimates,[441] under 2013 tax law the top 1% will be paying the highest average tax rates since 1979, while other income groups will remain at historic lows.[442]

U.S. taxation has historically been generally
progressive, especially the federal income taxes, though by most measures it became noticeably less progressive after 1980.[443][444] It has sometimes been described as among the most progressive in the developed world, but this characterization is controversial.[445][446][447][448][444] The highest 10% of income earners pay a majority of federal taxes,[449] and about half of all taxes.[450] Payroll taxes for Social Security are a flat
regressive tax, with no tax charged on income above $118,500 (for 2015 and 2016) and no tax at all paid on
unearned income from things such as stocks and capital gains.[451][452] The historic reasoning for the regressive nature of the payroll tax is that entitlement programs have not been viewed as welfare transfers.[453][454] However, according to the
Congressional Budget Office the net effect of Social Security is that the benefit to tax ratio ranges from roughly 70% for the top earnings quintile to about 170% for the lowest earning quintile, making the system progressive.[455]

The top 10% paid 51.8% of total federal taxes in 2009, and the top 1%, with 13.4% of pre-tax national income, paid 22.3% of federal taxes.[456] In 2013 the Tax Policy Center projected total federal effective tax rates of 35.5% for the top 1%, 27.2% for the top quintile, 13.8% for the middle quintile, and −2.7% for the bottom quintile.[457][458] The
incidence of
corporate income tax has been a matter of considerable ongoing controversy for decades.[448][459] State and local taxes vary widely, but are generally less progressive than federal taxes as they rely heavily on broadly borne
regressive sales and property taxes that yield less volatile revenue streams, though their consideration does not eliminate the progressive nature of overall taxation.[448][460]

During FY 2012, the federal government spent $3.54 trillion on a budget or cash basis, down $60 billion or 1.7% vs. FY 2011 spending of $3.60 trillion. Major categories of FY 2012 spending included: Medicare & Medicaid ($802B or 23% of spending), Social Security ($768B or 22%), Defense Department ($670B or 19%), non-defense discretionary ($615B or 17%), other mandatory ($461B or 13%) and interest ($223B or 6%).[440]

The
military budget of the United States in 2011 was more than $700 billion, 41% of global military spending and equal to the next 14 largest national military expenditures combined. At 4.7% of GDP, the rate was the second-highest among the top 15 military spenders, after
Saudi Arabia.[470] U.S. defense spending as a percentage of GDP ranked 23rd globally in 2012 according to the CIA.[471] Defense spending plays a major role in science and technology investment, with roughly half of U.S. federal research and development funded by the Department of Defense.[472] Defense's share of the overall U.S. economy has generally declined in recent decades, from Cold War peaks of 14.2% of GDP in 1953 and 69.5% of federal outlays in 1954 to 4.7% of GDP and 18.8% of federal outlays in 2011.[473]

US global military presence.

The proposed base
Department of Defense budget for 2012, $553 billion, was a 4.2% increase over 2011; an additional $118 billion was proposed for the military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.[474] The last American troops serving in Iraq departed in December 2011;[475] 4,484 service members were killed during the
Iraq War.[476] Approximately 90,000 U.S. troops were serving in Afghanistan in April 2012;[477] by November 8, 2013 2,285 had been killed during the
War in Afghanistan.[478]

In 2015, there were 15,696 murders which was 1,532 more than in 2014, a 10.8% increase, the largest since 1971.[481] The murder rate in 2015 was 4.9 per 100,000 people.[482] In 2016 the murder rate increased by 8.6%, with 17,413 murders that year.[483] The national
clearance rate for homicides in 2015 was 64.1%, compared to 90% in 1965.[484] In 2012 there were 4.7 murders per 100,000 persons in the United States, a 54% decline from the modern peak of 10.2 in 1980.[485] In 2001–2, the United States had above-average levels of
violent crime and particularly high levels of
gun violence compared to other developed nations.[486] A cross-sectional analysis of the
World Health Organization Mortality Database from 2010 showed that United States "homicide rates were 7.0 times higher than in other high-income countries, driven by a gun homicide rate that was 25.2 times higher."[487]Gun ownership rights continue to be the subject of
contentious political debate. In 2016, the US murder rate of 5.4 per 100,000 was similar to the estimated global average of 5.15 per 100,000.[488]

In 2017, there were 17,264 murders and the murder rate was 5.3 per 100,000. Regarding weapons, 73% of murders were committed by firearm, 10% by knife and 17% by other means.[489] The violent crime rose sharply in the 1960s until the early 1990s and declined in the late 1990s and 2000s.[489] In 2014, the murder rate fell to the lowest level (4.5) since 1957 (4.0).[490] The violent crime rate increased by 5.9% between 2014 and 2017 and the murder rate by 20.5%. Of those arrested for serious violent crimes in 2017, 58.5% were white, 37.5% were black, 2.1% were American Indian or Alaska Native and 1.5% Asian. Ethnically, 23.5% were Hispanic and 76.5% were non-Hispanic.[491] Gun violence peaked in 1993 with 17,125 gun murders before declining to 9,527 in 1999 and steadily rising since to 12,772. Non-gun murders reached a peak in 1980 of 8,340 and declined in most years until the early 2010s with 4,668 in 2017.[492] The rate of robberies declined 62% between 1990 and 2017.[489]

From 1980 through 2008 males represented 77% of homicide victims and 90% of offenders. Blacks committed 52.5% of all homicides during that span, at a rate almost eight times that of whites ("whites" includes most Hispanics), and were victimized at a rate six times that of whites. Most homicides were intraracial, with 93% of black victims killed by blacks and 84% of white victims killed by whites.[493] In 2012, Louisiana had the highest rate of murder and non-negligent manslaughter in the U.S., and New Hampshire the lowest.[494] The FBI's
Uniform Crime Reports estimates that there were 3,246 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents in 2012, for a total of over 9 million total crimes.[495]

Capital punishment is sanctioned in the United States for certain federal and military crimes, and also at the state level in 30 states.[496][497] No executions took place from 1967 to 1977, owing in part to a
U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down arbitrary imposition of the death penalty. In 1976, that Court ruled that, under appropriate circumstances, capital punishment may constitutionally be imposed. Since the decision there have been more than 1,300 executions, a majority of these taking place in three states: Texas, Virginia, and
Oklahoma.[498] Meanwhile,
several states have either abolished or struck down death penalty laws. In 2015, the country had the fifth-highest number of executions in the world, following China,
Iran,
Pakistan and
Saudi Arabia.[499]

The United States has the
highest documented incarceration rate and
largest prison population in the world.[500] At the start of 2008, more than 2.3 million people were incarcerated, more than one in every 100 adults.[501] In December 2012, the combined U.S. adult correctional systems supervised about 6,937,600 offenders. About 1 in every 35 adult residents in the United States was under some form of correctional supervision in December 2012, the lowest rate observed since 1997.[502] The prison population has quadrupled since 1980,[503] and state and local spending on prisons and jails has grown three times as much as that spent on public education during the same period.[504] However, the imprisonment rate for all prisoners sentenced to more than a year in state or federal facilities is 478 per 100,000 in 2013[505] and the rate for pre-trial/remand prisoners is 153 per 100,000 residents in 2012.[506] The country's high rate of incarceration is largely due to changes in
sentencing guidelines and
drug policies.[507] According to the
Federal Bureau of Prisons, the majority of inmates held in federal prisons are convicted of drug offenses.[508] The
privatization of prisons and prison services which began in the 1980s has been a subject of debate.[509][510] In 2018, Oklahoma
had the highest incarceration rate (1,079 per 100,000 people), and Massachusetts the lowest (324 per 100,000 people).[511][512] Among the
U.S. territories, the highest incarceration rate was in the
U.S. Virgin Islands (542 per 100,000 people) and the lowest was in
Puerto Rico (313 per 100,000 people).[513][514]

In 2009, the private sector was estimated to constitute 86.4% of the economy, with federal government activity accounting for 4.3% and state and local government activity (including federal transfers) the remaining 9.3%.[540] The number of employees at all levels of government outnumber those in
manufacturing by 1.7 to 1.[541] While its economy has reached a
postindustrial level of development and its
service sector constitutes 67.8% of GDP, the United States remains an industrial power.[542] The leading business field by gross business receipts is wholesale and retail trade; by net income it is manufacturing.[543] In the
franchising business model,
McDonald's and
Subway are the two most recognized brands in the world.
Coca-Cola is the most recognized
soft drink company in the world.[544]

Consumer spending comprises 68% of the U.S. economy in 2015.[553] In August 2010, the American labor force consisted of 154.1 million people. With 21.2 million people, government is the leading field of employment. The largest private employment sector is health care and social assistance, with 16.4 million people. About 12% of workers are
unionized, compared to 30% in
Western Europe.[554] The World Bank ranks the United States first in the ease of hiring and firing workers.[555] The United States is ranked among the top three in the
Global Competitiveness Report as well. It has a smaller
welfare state and redistributes less income through government action than European nations tend to.[556]

Science and technology

The United States has been a leader in technological innovation since the late 19th century and scientific research since the mid-20th century. Methods for producing
interchangeable parts were developed by the U.S. War Department by the Federal Armories during the first half of the 19th century. This technology, along with the establishment of a
machine tool industry, enabled the U.S. to have large-scale manufacturing of sewing machines, bicycles, and other items in the late 19th century and became known as the
American system of manufacturing. Factory
electrification in the early 20th century and introduction of the
assembly line and other labor-saving techniques created the system called
mass production.[562]

These advancements then lead to greater
personalization of technology for individual use.[572] As of 2013[update], 83.8% of American households owned at least one
computer, and 73.3% had high-speed Internet service.[573] 91% of Americans also own a mobile phone as of May 2013[update].[574] The United States ranks highly with regard to freedom of use of the internet.[575]

In the 21st century, approximately two-thirds of research and development funding comes from the private sector.[576] The United States leads the world in scientific research papers and
impact factor.[577][578]

After years of stagnant growth, in 2016, according to the Census, median household income reached a record high after two consecutive years of record growth, although income inequality remains at record highs with top fifth of earners taking home more than half of all overall income.[584] There has been a widening gap between productivity and median incomes since the 1970s.[585] However, the gap between total compensation and productivity is not as wide because of increased employee benefits such as health insurance.[586] The rise in the share of total annual income received by the top 1 percent, which has more than doubled from 9 percent in 1976 to 20 percent in 2011, has significantly affected
income inequality,[587] leaving the United States with one of the widest income distributions among OECD nations.[588] According to a 2018 study by the OECD, the United States has much higher income inequality and a larger percentage of low-income workers than almost any other developed nation. This is largely because at-risk workers get almost no government support and are further set back by a very weak
collective bargaining system.[589] The
top 1 percent of income-earners accounted for 52 percent of the income gains from 2009 to 2015, where income is defined as market income excluding government transfers.[590] The extent and relevance of income inequality is a matter of debate.[591][592][593]

Wealth, like income and taxes, is
highly concentrated; the richest 10% of the adult population possess 72% of the country's household wealth, while the bottom half claim only 2%.[595] According to a September 2017 report by the Federal Reserve, the top 1% controlled 38.6% of the country's wealth in 2016.[596] Between June 2007 and November 2008 the
global recession led to falling asset prices around the world. Assets owned by Americans lost about a quarter of their value.[597] Since peaking in the second quarter of 2007, household wealth was down $14 trillion, but has since increased $14 trillion over 2006 levels.[598][599] At the end of 2014,
household debt amounted to $11.8 trillion,[600] down from $13.8 trillion at the end of 2008.[601]

There were about 578,424 sheltered and unsheltered
homeless persons in the U.S. in January 2014, with almost two-thirds staying in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program.[602] In 2011
16.7 million children lived in food-insecure households, about 35% more than 2007 levels, though only 1.1% of U.S. children, or 845,000, saw reduced food intake or disrupted eating patterns at some point during the year, and most cases were not chronic.[603] According to a 2014 report by the Census Bureau, one in five young adults lives in
poverty, up from one in seven in 1980.[604] As of September 2017[update], 40 million people, roughly 12.7% of the U.S. population, were living in poverty, with 18.5 million of those living in deep poverty (a family income below one-half of the poverty threshold). In 2016, 13.3 million children were living in poverty, which made up 32.6% of the impoverished population.[605]

Infrastructure

Transportation

Personal transportation is dominated by automobiles, which operate on a network of 4 million miles (6.4 million kilometers) of public roads,[612] including one of the world's
longest highway systems at 57,000 mi (91,700 km).[613] The world's second-largest automobile market,[614] the United States has the highest rate of per-capita vehicle ownership in the world, with 765 vehicles per 1,000 Americans (1996).[615] About 40% of
personal vehicles are vans,
SUVs, or light trucks.[616] The average American adult (accounting for all drivers and non-drivers) spends 55 minutes driving every day, traveling 29 miles (47 km).[617] In 2017, there were 255,009,283 motor vehicles—including cars, vans, buses, freight, and other trucks, but excluding motorcycles and other two-wheelers—or 910 vehicles per 1,000 people.[618]

Mass transit accounts for 9% of total U.S. work trips.[620][621]Transport of goods by rail is extensive, though relatively low numbers of passengers (approximately 31 million annually) use intercity rail to travel, partly because of the low population density throughout much of the U.S. interior.[622][623] However, ridership on
Amtrak, the national intercity passenger rail system, grew by almost 37% between 2000 and 2010.[624] Also,
light rail development has increased in recent years.[625] Bicycle usage for work commutes is minimal.[626]

Energy

The
United States energy market is about 29,000
terawatt hours per year.[630]Energy consumption per capita is 7.8 tons (7076 kg) of oil equivalent per year, the 10th-highest rate in the world. In 2005, 40% of this energy came from petroleum, 23% from coal, and 22% from natural gas. The remainder was supplied by nuclear power and
renewable energy sources.[631] The United States is the world's largest consumer of petroleum.[632] The United States has 27% of global coal reserves.[633] It is the world's largest producer of natural gas and crude oil.[634]

For decades,
nuclear power has played a limited role relative to many other developed countries, in part because of public perception following the
Three Mile Island accident in 1979. In 2007, several applications for new nuclear plants were filed.[635]

Water supply and sanitation

Issues that affect water supply in the United States include
droughts in the West,
water scarcity,
pollution, a backlog of investment, concerns about the affordability of water for the poorest, and a rapidly retiring workforce. Increased variability and intensity of rainfall as a result of
climate change is expected to produce both more severe droughts and flooding, with potentially serious consequences for water supply and for pollution from
combined sewer overflows.[639][640][p]

Core American culture was established by
Protestant British colonists and shaped by the
frontier settlement process, with the traits derived passed down to descendants and transmitted to immigrants through assimilation. Americans have traditionally been characterized by a strong
work ethic, competitiveness, and individualism,[647] as well as a unifying belief in an "American
creed" emphasizing liberty, equality, private property,
democracy, rule of law, and a preference for limited government.[648] Americans are extremely charitable by global standards. According to a 2006 British study,
Americans gave 1.67% of GDP to charity, more than any other nation studied, more than twice the second place British figure of 0.73%, and around twelve times the French figure of 0.14%.[649][650][651]

The
American Dream, or the perception that Americans enjoy high
social mobility, plays a key role in attracting immigrants.[652] Whether this perception is realistic has been a topic of debate.[653][654][655][656][525][657] While mainstream culture holds that the United States is a
classless society,[658] scholars identify significant differences between the country's social classes, affecting
socialization, language, and values.[659] Americans' self-images, social viewpoints, and cultural expectations are associated with their occupations to an unusually close degree.[660] While Americans tend greatly to value socioeconomic achievement, being
ordinary or average is generally seen as a positive attribute.[661]

Food

Mainstream American cuisine is similar to that in other Western countries.
Wheat is the primary cereal grain with about three-quarters of grain products made of wheat flour[662] and many dishes use indigenous ingredients, such as turkey, venison, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, squash, and maple syrup which were consumed by Native Americans and early European settlers.[663] These homegrown foods are part of a shared national menu on one of America's most popular holidays,
Thanksgiving, when some Americans make traditional foods to celebrate the occasion.[664]

Characteristic dishes such as apple pie, fried chicken, pizza, hamburgers, and hot dogs derive from the recipes of various immigrants. French fries,
Mexican dishes such as burritos and tacos, and pasta dishes freely adapted from
Italian sources are widely consumed.[666] Americans drink three times as much coffee as tea.[667] Marketing by U.S. industries is largely responsible for making orange juice and milk ubiquitous
breakfast beverages.[668][669]

American eating habits owe a great deal to that of their
British culinary roots with some variations. Although American lands could grow newer vegetables that Britain could not, most colonists would not eat these new foods until accepted by Europeans.[670] Over time American foods changed to a point that food critic,
John L. Hess stated in 1972: "Our founding fathers were as far superior to our present political leaders in the quality of their food as they were in the quality of their prose and intelligence".[671]

The American
fast food industry, the world's largest,[672] pioneered the
drive-through format in the 1940s.[673] Fast food consumption has sparked health concerns. During the 1980s and 1990s, Americans' caloric intake rose 24%;[666] frequent dining at fast food outlets is associated with what public health officials call the American "
obesity epidemic".[674] Highly sweetened soft drinks are widely popular, and sugared beverages account for nine percent of American caloric intake.[675]

Music

Although little known at the time,
Charles Ives's work of the 1910s established him as the first major U.S. composer in the classical tradition, while experimentalists such as
Henry Cowell and
John Cage created a distinctive American approach to classical composition.
Aaron Copland and
George Gershwin developed a new synthesis of popular and classical music.

Cinema

Hollywood, a northern district of
Los Angeles, California, is one of the leaders in motion picture production.[692] The world's first commercial motion picture exhibition was given in New York City in 1894, using
Thomas Edison's
Kinetoscope.[693] The next year saw the first commercial screening of a projected film, also in New York, and the United States was in the forefront of
sound film's development in the following decades. Since the early 20th century, the U.S. film industry has largely been based in and around Hollywood, although in the 21st century an increasing number of films are not made there, and film companies have been subject to the forces of globalization.[694]

In 1998, the number of U.S. commercial radio stations had grown to 4,793 AM stations and 5,662 FM stations. In addition, there are 1,460 public radio stations. Most of these stations are run by universities and public authorities for educational purposes and are financed by public or private funds, subscriptions, and corporate underwriting. Much public-radio broadcasting is supplied by
NPR (formerly National Public Radio). NPR was incorporated in February 1970 under the
Public Broadcasting Act of 1967; its television counterpart,
PBS, was also created by the same legislation (NPR and PBS are operated separately from each other). As of September 30, 2014[update], there are 15,433 licensed full-power radio stations in the U.S. according to the
U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).[718]

Well-known newspapers include The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA Today.[719] Although the cost of publishing has increased over the years, the price of newspapers has generally remained low, forcing newspapers to rely more on advertising revenue and on articles provided by a major wire service, such as the
Associated Press or
Reuters, for their national and world coverage. With very few exceptions, all the newspapers in the U.S. are privately owned, either by large chains such as
Gannett or
McClatchy, which own dozens or even hundreds of newspapers; by small chains that own a handful of papers; or in a situation that is increasingly rare, by individuals or families. Major cities often have "alternative weeklies" to complement the mainstream daily papers, for example, New York City's The Village Voice or Los Angeles' LA Weekly, to name two of the best-known. Major cities may also support a local business journal, trade papers relating to local industries, and papers for local ethnic and social groups. Early versions of the American newspaper
comic strip and the
American comic book began appearing in the 19th century. In 1938,
Superman, the comic book
superhero of
DC Comics, developed into an American icon.[720] Aside from
web portals and
search engines, the most popular websites are
Facebook,
YouTube,
Wikipedia,
Yahoo!,
eBay,
Amazon, and
Twitter.[721]

More than 800 publications are produced in Spanish, the second most commonly used language in the United States behind English.[722][723]

^ In five territories, English as well as one or more indigenous languages are official:
Spanish in Puerto Rico,
Samoan in American Samoa,
Chamorro in both Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Carolinian is also an official language in the Northern Mariana Islands.

^
abcThe Encyclopædia Britannica lists China as the world's third-largest country (after Russia and Canada) with a total area of 9,572,900 sq km,[17] and the United States as fourth-largest at 9,526,468 sq km. The figure for the United States is less than in the CIA World Factbook because it excludes coastal and territorial waters.[18]The CIA World Factbook lists the United States as the third-largest country (after Russia and Canada) with total area of 9,833,517 sq km,[19] and China as fourth-largest at 9,596,960 sq km.[20] This figure for the United States is greater than in the Encyclopædia Britannica because it includes coastal and territorial waters.

^Spain sent
several expeditions to Alaska to assert its long-held claim over the Pacific Northwest, which dated back to the 16th century. During the decade 1785–1795 British merchants, encouraged by
Sir Joseph Banks and supported by their government, made a sustained attempt to develop this trade despite Spain's claims and navigation rights. The endeavors of these merchants did not last long in the face of Spain's opposition. The challenge was also opposed by a Japanese holding obdurately to national seclusion.[97]

^On the evening of February 13, while anchored in Kealakekua Bay after their return, one of only two long boats was stolen.[105] The Hawaiians had begun to openly challenge the foreigners. In retaliation, Cook tried to take the
aliʻi nui of the island of Hawaii,
Kalaniʻōpuʻu as ransom for the boats.[106] The following morning of February 14, 1779[107] Cook and his men went directly to Kalaniʻōpuʻu's enclosure where the monarch was still sleeping.[108] One of ruler's wives,
Kānekapōlei pleaded with them to stop.[109] Cook's men and the Marines were confronted on the beach by thousands of
Native Hawaiians.[110] Cook tried to move the elderly man but he refused. As the townspeople began to surrounding them, Cook and his men raised their guns. Two chiefs and the monarch's wife shielded Kalaniʻōpuʻu as Cook tried to force him to his feet.[111] The crowd became hostile and
Kanaʻina (one of the monarch's attendants) approached Cook, who reacted by striking him with the broad side of his sword. Kanaʻina instantly grabbed Cook and lifted him off his feet.[112] Kanaʻina released Cook, who fell to the ground as another attendant, Nuaa fatally stabbed Cook to death.[113]

^Fertility is also a factor; in 2010 the average Hispanic woman gave birth to 2.35 children in her lifetime, compared to 1.97 for non-Hispanic black women and 1.79 for non-Hispanic white women (both below the
replacement rate of 2.1).[279] Between 2006 and 2017 the population growth rate for Hispanics dropped from 3.7% to 2.0%, for Asians from 3.5% to 2.9%, for blacks from 1.0% to 0.9% and for non-Hispanic whites from 0.1% to 0.0%. Hispanics accounted for 51% of the population increase between 2016 and 2017.[280]Minorities (as defined by the Census Bureau as all those beside non-Hispanic, non-multiracial whites) constituted 36.3% of the population in 2010 (this is nearly 40% in 2015),[281] and over 50% of children under age one,[282] and are projected to constitute the majority by 2042.[283] This contradicts the report by the National Vital Statistics Reports, based on the U.S. census data, which concludes that 54% (2,162,406 out of 3,999,386 in 2010) of births were non-Hispanic white.[279] The Hispanic birth rate plummeted 25% between 2006 and 2013 while the rate for non-Hispanics decreased just 5%.[284]

^Source: 2015
American Community Survey,
U.S. Census Bureau. Most respondents who speak a language other than English at home also report speaking English "well" or "very well". For the language groups listed above, the strongest English-language proficiency is among speakers of German (96% report that they speak English "well" or "very well"), followed by speakers of French (93.5%), Tagalog (92.8%), Spanish (74.1%), Korean (71.5%), Chinese (70.4%), and Vietnamese (66.9%).

^In January 2015, U.S. federal government debt held by the public was approximately $13 trillion, or about 72% of U.S. GDP. Intra-governmental holdings stood at $5 trillion, giving a combined total debt of $18.080 trillion.[462][463] By 2012, total federal debt had surpassed 100% of U.S. GDP.[464] The U.S. has a
credit rating of AA+ from
Standard & Poor's, AAA from
Fitch, and AAA from
Moody's.[465]

^Droughts are likely to particularly affect the 66 percent of Americans whose communities depend on surface water.[641] As for drinking water quality, there are concerns about disinfection by-products,
lead,
perchlorates and pharmaceutical substances, but generally
drinking water quality in the U.S. is good.[642]

References

^"uscode.house.gov". Public Law 105-225. uscode.house.gov. August 12, 1999. pp. 112 Stat. 1263. Retrieved September 10, 2017. Section 304. "The composition by John Philip Sousa entitled "The Stars and Stripes Forever" is the national march."

^UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
"Megadiverse Countries definition". Biodiversity A−Z. UN WCMC. Retrieved September 11, 2017. 17 countries which have been identified as the most biodiversity-rich countries of the world, with a particular focus on endemic biodiversity.

^DeLear, Byron (July 4, 2013)
Who coined 'United States of America'? Mystery might have intriguing answer. "Historians have long tried to pinpoint exactly when the name 'United States of America' was first used and by whom... ...This latest find comes in a letter that Stephen Moylan, Esq., wrote to Col. Joseph Reed from the Continental Army Headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., during the Siege of Boston. The two men lived with Washington in Cambridge, with Reed serving as Washington's favorite military secretary and Moylan fulfilling the role during Reed's absence." Christian Science Monitor (Boston, MA).

^Touba, Mariam (November 5, 2014)
Who Coined the Phrase 'United States of America'? You May Never Guess "Here, on January 2, 1776, seven months before the Declaration of Independence and a week before the publication of Paine's Common Sense, Stephen Moylan, an acting secretary to General George Washington, spells it out, 'I should like vastly to go with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain' to seek foreign assistance for the cause." New-York Historical Society Museum & Library

^Greene and Pole, A Companion to the American Revolution p 357. Jonathan R. Dull, A Diplomatic History of the American Revolution (1987) p. 161. Lawrence S. Kaplan, "The Treaty of Paris, 1783: A Historiographical Challenge", International History Review, Sept 1983, Vol. 5 Issue 3, pp. 431–442

^Voris, Jacqueline Van (1996). Carrie Chapman Catt: A Public Life. Women and Peace Series. New York City: Feminist Press at CUNY. p. vii.
ISBN978-1-55861-139-9. Carrie Chapmann Catt led an army of voteless women in 1919 to pressure Congress to pass the constitutional amendment giving them the right to vote and convinced state legislatures to ratify it in 1920. ... Catt was one of the best-known women in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century and was on all lists of famous American women.